Draft-gear for railroad-cars.



` No. 889,234'. PATENTED JUNE 2, 1908,

` C. H. HOWARD, H. M. PFLAGBR & G.u T. WBSTLAKE.

DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILROAD CARS. APPLroATIoN FILED JULY 27. 1907,

' Unirse sraalns rarsnr FFIQE.

CLARENCE I-I. HOWARD, HARRY M. PFLAGER, AND CHARLES T. WLSTLARE, Ol" ST. LOUIS,

MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS TO TRANSOM DRAFT GEAR tOIiIAXY, Ol"

A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

sr. Louis, MissoURI,

DRAFT-GEAR FOR RAILROAD-CARS.4

Specification of Letters Patent.`

Patented June 2, 1908.

Application filed. Ju1y 27, 1907. ySerial No. 385,867.

To all ywhom it 'may concern:

Beit known that we, CLARENCE l-I. How- ARD, HARRY M. PFLAGER, and CnARLns T. `WES'JYLAKE, citizens of the United. States, re-

siding lat St. Louis, in the State of Missouri,

ent were granted to Harry M. Pflager, January 23, 1906, number 810,805, for improvement in draft-gear for railroad cars.

Our invention is particularly applicable to a metallic car underframe in which the distance between the two middle' longitudinal sills, which butt against the rear side of the body-bolsters, is insufficient forY assembling and operating the draft-springs between the said sills in alinement with the bufIing-springs against the front side of the bolster as in the said patent, and our invention has,l for its object, to obviate this difliculty, to increase the efficiency and strength of the buffing-springs, and to insure a more positive self-centering or return of the draft- 'gear to itsnormal stress therefrom. v

It conslsts 1n features of novelty as hereinafter described and cla1med,' reierence beposition on removal of the ving had to the accompanying drawing forming par't of this s ecilication, whereon,

Figure 1, 1s a iorizontal section, partly 1n -top plan view, of our improved draft-gear applled to one of the body-holsters and two middle longitudinal sills of a metallic car underframe, on. liiie 1, 1, in Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a front view of the bolster seen in Fig. 1', omitting the draft-gear, and Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section through the bolster,

and longitudinal section through. the draftgear onl ine 3, 3, in Fig. 1.

Like letters and numerals of reference denote like parts in all the figures.

a represents one of the body-holsters, and b the two middle longitudinal sills of a metal- Y lic car underframe, having our improved draft-gear applied thereto, the bolster ain .the present case being vof the cast steel type,

preferably I-sha ed in cross section integral throughout, am having the body-centerplate 1 perforated centrally for the king-bolt in the usual manner.

The middle longitudinal sills in the present case are shown as channel irons arranged opposite to each other at a short distance apart, one on each side of, and equidistant from the longitudinal centercf the underframe, with their flanges outward, the ends ofthe sills l) butting against the rear side (or web) 2 of the bolster a having rearwardly projecting brackets 3, to which the end ortions of the sills o are laterally securedi) by rivets f1, or otherwise, as found most suitable, the sills o being reinforced at the top and connected together at their end portions by an angle-bar 5`as shown. Or thesills t may be of any other suitable shape and material according to the type of underframe used.

Along the front side (or web) 2 of the bolster o in the same horizontal plane with each other, are formed three cylindrical pockets, to wit; a middle pocket 6 alined to the longitudinal center of the underframe, and a pocket 6' on each side of the middle pocket 6, and preferably alined to the corresponding middle sill t, or thereabout, the pockets 6, 6', being adapted to receive the inner ends of the "bufling springs 7, 7'. c is the draw-bar, in the inner end of which are formed three cylindrical pockets 8, S', corresponding to the pockets 6, 6', and adapted to receive the outer ends of the "bufhng springs 7, 7'.

Along the rear side (or web) 2 of the bolster a 1n the plane of, but spaced further apart than the pockets 6, 6', are formed two cylindrical pockets 9, one on each side of and equldistant from the longitudinal center of the underframe, and at a suitable distance from the outermost side lofthe corresponding middle sill b toward the end of the bolster c,

the pockets 9 being adapted to receive theinner ends of the "draft" springs 10, while the outer end of each spring 10 is engaged by a yoke d having its arms 11 coupled at their free ends by a pin 12 to the draw-bar c (preferably at its inner end adjacent to the corresponding pocket` 8') and adapted to play t n'ough o eninvs 13 (seen in Fig. 2) formed therefor thiroug i the web 2 of the bolster a'.

By the above construction of draft-gear `the bufn stress of the s rines 7' is transico to bear against t 1e bolster a, at points outside the sills b between them and the side sills (not shown) the resiliency ofthe draft spring in compression when pulling on a curve is increased,- and the draw-bar c4 returned more positively thereby to its normal position. on

the car leaving the curve.

What We claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is In draft-gear ot the character described,

the combination With the middle longitudinal sills and bodybolster of car underframe, of` a draw-bar, a bulingspring adapted to bear at one end against the front side 0ithebolster in alineme'nt, or thereabout, with each of the said'sills, and at its other end against the draw-bar, a draft spring adapted te bear at one end against the rear side oi the bolster adjacent to the outermost side of each of the said sills, and a yoke. adapted to enga e the other end of the draft spring, t e arms of the said yoke being coupled at their free ends to the draw- .bar and adapted to play through the bolster, substantially as described and -for the purpose set forth.

' In testimony whereof We have signed our naines to this speciication in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

`CLARENCE H. HONVARD.

HARRY M. PFLAGER. CHARLES T. WESTLAKE.

Witnesses: Y

EDWARD WV. FURRELL, ADOLPH H. MAYNE. 

